Shyster
Shyster (/ˈʃaɪstər/; also spelled schiester, scheister, etc.) is a slang word for someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law, sometimes also politics or economics.
Etymology
The etymology of the word is not generally agreed upon. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as "of obscure origin", possibly deriving from a historical sense of "shy" meaning disreputable.[1]
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary deemed it probably based on the German Scheißer (literally "shitter", i.e. "defecator"[2]). A book published in 2013 traces the first use back to 1843, when scammers in New York City would exploit prisoners by pretending to be lawyers. These scammers were disparagingly referred to as "shisers", meaning "worthless people" in British slang, which in turn was originally derived from the German "Scheißer".[3]
Various etymologies have suggested an antisemitic origin, possibly associated with the character of Shylock from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, but there is no clear evidence for this.[4] One source asserts that the term originated in Philadelphia in 1843 from a disreputable attorney named "Schuster."[5]
The United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that while "some viewers may find the term distasteful," a television advertisement that used the term in a derogatory context did not cause "cause serious or widespread offence" according to the CAP Code.[6][7] When contacted by the ASA, the Board of Deputies of British Jews stated that they did not have concerns with the advertisement's content.[6]
Cultural references
- U.S. professional wrestler Mike Rotunda, using the ring name Irwin R. Schyster (abbreviated to "I.R.S.") portrayed a dishonest tax collector and accountant.
- Sylvester Shyster, a Walt Disney cartoon character introduced in 1930, is a disbarred attorney who schemes to deprive Minnie Mouse of her inheritance; and in many comic serials by Floyd Gottfredson (his creator) he appeared scheming with Peg-leg Pete
- The 1932/33 radio show Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, starring Groucho and Chico Marx, depicts the misadventures of a small law firm.
- In The Wire episode Backwash, Maui pranks his fellow stevedore Ziggy, pretending to be a law firm informing him that a woman he's had sexual relations with is now pregnant. When Ziggy's cousin Nick calls back, the phone number leads to Maui's cell phone, which he answers with "Shyster, Shyster & Shyster."
- In The Simpsons, Lionel Hutz is a shady lawyer who is repeatedly hired by the titular family. In his first appearance in "Bart Gets Hit by a Car", Lisa refers to him as a "shyster".
- The film Big Stan featured Lew Popper who is a shyster lawyer that Stan Minton replaces his lawyer Mal with in an attempt to bribe Judge Perry. Lew does that where Stan is allowed 3 years in Verlaine State Correctional Facility while spending 6 months before incarceration to reorganize his "charity". By the end of the film, Lew was arrested and incarcerated at Verlaine State Correctional Facility for having slept with a foreperson of a trial he was recently involved in.
- Saul Goodman (aka Jimmy McGill) is a criminal lawyer featured in Breaking Bad and is the eponymous main character of its prequel, Better Call Saul. In both shows, Saul is shown to be flagrant in his violations of the law and indifferent about scheming and committing crimes to get a better outcome for his defendants in court. Because of his disregard of the law, his fellow lawyers have called him a shyster, most notably Howard Hamlin. He becomes affiliated with the chemistry teacher-turned-drug lord, Walter White, and serves as his advisor and confidant in his highly illegal activities.
- 'The Lawyer' is a nameless recurring character in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia who is often pitted against 'the Gang' and their friends in their numerous legal exploits. He is often described as a shyster and a 'Jew Lawyer', especially by Frank.
See also
- Hustler
- Pseudolaw
References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989, retrieved from dictionary.oed.com.
- ^ "Shyster". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ On the Origin of 'Shyster', Allan Metcalf, 2013-05-06
- ^ Quinion, Michael (19 May 2007). "Shyster". World Wide Words. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ^ Karrass, Chester L. (1974). Give & Take. New York: Thomas Y Crowell. p. 194. ISBN 0-690-00566-0.
- ^ a b "ASA Ruling on Legal Utopia Ltd". www.asa.org.uk. ASA and CAP. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ Hyde, John (23 February 2022). "Legal app ad using the word 'shyster' cleared of causing offence". The Law Society Gazette. The Law Society. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- v
- t
- e
- Scam
- Error account
- Shill
- Shyster
- Sucker list
confidence tricks
- 1992 Indian stock market scam
- 2G spectrum case
- Advance-fee scam
- Art student scam
- Badger game
- Bait-and-switch
- Black money scam
- Blessing scam
- Bogus escrow
- Boiler room
- Bride scam
- Charity fraud
- Clip joint
- Coin-matching game
- Coin rolling scams
- Drop swindle
- Embarrassing cheque
- Exit scam
- Extraterrestrial real estate
- Fiddle game
- Fine print
- Foreclosure rescue scheme
- Foreign exchange fraud
- Fortune telling fraud
- Gem scam
- Get-rich-quick scheme
- Green goods scam
- Hustling
- Indian coal allocation scam
- IRS impersonation scam
- Intellectual property scams
- Kansas City Shuffle
- Locksmith scam
- Long firm
- Miracle cars scam
- Mismarking
- Mock auction
- Moving scam
- Overpayment scam
- Patent safe
- Pig in a poke
- Pigeon drop
- Pork barrel
- Pump and dump
- Redemption/A4V schemes
- Reloading scam
- Return fraud
- Salting
- Shell game
- Sick baby hoax
- SIM swap scam
- Slavery reparations scam
- Spanish Prisoner
- SSA impersonation scam
- SSC Scam
- Strip search phone call scam
- Swampland in Florida
- Tarmac scam
- Technical support scam
- Telemarketing fraud
- Thai tailor scam
- Thai zig zag scam
- Three-card monte
- Trojan horse
- Wash trading
- White van speaker scam
- Work-at-home scheme
countermeasures
- Avalanche
- Pig Butchering
- Carding
- Catfishing
- Click fraud
- Clickjacking
- Cramming
- Cryptocurrency scams
- Cybercrime
- CyberThrill
- DarkMarket
- Domain name scams
- Email authentication
- Email fraud
- Internet vigilantism
- Lenny anti-scam bot
- Lottery scam
- PayPai
- Phishing
- Referer spoofing
- Ripoff Report
- Rock Phish
- Romance scam
- Russian Business Network
- SaferNet
- Scam baiting
- 419eater.com
- Jim Browning
- Kitboga
- Scammer Payback
- ShadowCrew
- Spoofed URL
- Spoofing attack
- Stock Generation
- Voice phishing
- Website reputation ratings
Ponzi schemes
- Aman Futures Group
- Bernard Cornfeld
- Caritas
- Dona Branca
- Earl Jones
- Ezubao
- Foundation for New Era Philanthropy
- Franchise fraud
- High-yield investment program (HYIP)
- Investors Overseas Service
- Kapa investment scam
- Kubus scheme
- Madoff investment scandal
- Make Money Fast
- Matrix scheme
- MMM
- Petters Group Worldwide
- Pyramid schemes in Albania
- Reed Slatkin
- Saradha Group financial scandal
- Secret Sister
- Scott W. Rothstein
- Stanford Financial Group
- Welsh Thrasher faith scam